The game of golf is hundreds of years old. For some, the game of golf is a passion; while for others, it is simply an enjoyable pastime. Regardless of a player's dedication to the game, it is far more enjoyable when the player can employ a proper golf swing consistently. Over the years, golfers have employed countless different swings. However, those swings that are “proper” are those that strike the golf ball with the “sweet spot” of the club face. By striking the ball with the sweet spot, a player allows the golf club to do a good majority of the work required in delivering the golf ball along an accurate and proper trajectory down the fairway or onto the green.
Unfortunately, many golfers are unable to swing their golf clubs in a manner that properly strikes the golf ball on a consistent basis. Often such players strike the golf ball with the face of the club just above a horizontal plane extending through the middle of the golf ball. This causes the leading edge of the club head, between the face of the club head and the sole, to engage the ball. In such instances, the ball typically skids across the ground in front of the player, falling far short of the intended trajectory or distance. This causes many golfers to rely on a false sense of security, provided through the use of a tee or tuffs of grass, which positions the golf ball in an elevated relationship to the ground surface. Using these supports, it is easier for many golfers to strike the golf ball with the sweet spot of the club head face, below the horizontal plane that extends through the middle of the ball. However, there are limited opportunities in a round of golf to use a tee or to position a ball “up” in the grass. Accordingly, most golfers are left frustrated with poorly struck shots throughout their round of golf. As such, most golfers do not enjoy the subtle nuances and strategy behind the game of golf, which are more commonly employed by professional golfers.
Various prior art teaching devices have been developed in an effort to train players to consistently strike the golf ball with the sweet spots of their clubs. For example, the practice golf club, taught by E. J. Hasten, Jr. et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,341, employs the use of a flat, generally circular disk that is secured to the sweet spot of a club head face using a screw or other fastener. The circular disk approximates the size of a golf ball and, presumably, when the golf ball is struck with the exposed face of the disk, the ball travels along a trajectory as though it has been struck by the sweet spot of the club face. However, the disk only covers the sweet spot portion of the club head face. Accordingly, a user of the practice club is able to maintain the player's previously undesirable swing in striking the golf ball with the toe or heel portions of the golf club, maintaining an improper impact with the ball and not teaching a consistent, proper swing. Moreover, the addition of a striking disk to an otherwise standard golf club could frequently change the characteristics of the club and its sweet spot. For example, the striking surface of the sweet spot in the disclosed practice golf club is positioned forwardly from the face of the club head. Accordingly, it is difficult for a user who becomes accustomed to using the practice golf club to translate the same, exact swing to standard clubs that do not use the raised disk. Additionally, club heads are provided to have a particular mass that assists in properly striking golf balls. The addition of a striking disk with a fastener poses the possibility of an inconsistent overall density within the club head, changing the characteristics of the impact of the club head with a golf ball. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the fastener and disk will not loosen over time, causing a loose connection with the face of the club and causing inconsistent impacts with golf balls as the impact disk shifts slightly from one position to another. Loose connections could also cause the disk to rattle as the club was swung and engaged with golf balls.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0160634 by Lee discloses a training golf club that employs a generally planar, round striking disk that is located at the sweet spot of the club head face. The Lee training club differs from the Hasten club in that the remaining portions of the club face are covered with a cushion having a thickness that approximates a thickness of the striking disk. Accordingly, when the Lee training club is used, proper ball trajectory could purportedly be attained by striking the golf ball with the striking disk on the club face. By striking the ball with the cushion, a significant portion of the impact force is absorbed and produces a shortened, less desirable golf shot. However, the design of this golf club trainer does not affect the trajectory of the golf ball when it is struck with the cushion, as opposed to the striking disk. The cushion is disposed along the same plane as the remainder of the club face. Accordingly, a user is not provided with a clear indication of an improperly struck ball as the ball can be frequently struck down the fairway with the same general trajectory but with a slightly reduced distance. Moreover, this training club design requires periodic replacement of the cushion as it is degraded by impacts with golf balls. Without replacement of the cushion, any affect on the distance that ball is struck is minimized by compression or degradation of the cushion.
Training golf clubs disclosed within U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,139,198 and 5,961,392 include projections that extended forwardly from the striking face of the golf clubs. Center portions of the projections, approximating the sweet spot of the club head face, are shaped to be planar and positioned parallel with the striking face of the club head. However, moving outwardly from the sweet spot, angular peaks are provided to extend further than the sweet spot portion of the projection. The angular peaks of the projection are provided to significantly change the path of the ball from its intended line as the golf ball strikes one of the angularly disposed faces of the peaks. However, as with other training devices, these designs do not use the actual striking face of the original club head. Rather, these designs forwardly position the sweet spot of the club face, using structural additions to the club head. Accordingly, problems with inconsistent density and location of the sweet spot plane can be frequently encountered. Moreover, such projections in training golf clubs do not provide the option of altering the entire club head face. Therefore, improper shots can still be maintained at the heel or toe of the club head.
Still other training golf clubs, such as those taught within U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0177486 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,104,897, use a hemispherical projection that extends outwardly from the approximated sweet spot of the club head face. In many instances, the hemispherical projection is shaped to approximate the shape of a golf ball. Such designs present potential shortcomings that include inconsistent club head densities and an artificially, forward-spaced striking face. Other undesirable results are potentially encountered. In particular, a spherical object would only be able to impact a spherical golf ball in a precise location in order to affect a straight and properly lofted ball trajectory. Using the old baseball principle that it is difficult to “hit a round ball with a round bat square,” users of these types of training golf clubs may frequently find it difficult to hit the sweet spot on the projection in a consistent fashion. Such frustrating efforts can quickly diminish the user's desire to use such a training device and, therefore, limit its effectiveness.